Michelle and Dylan see the depths of Shelby's cruelty
In one of the most truly eye-opening episodes of all, Michelle Harper and her kids, see what Shelby had done to them all and the despicable means she employed to get her way. Also, make way for a new romance between Michelle and family friend (and her best friend), Angela Mercier. Scene Dylan's townhouse. While everyone else is busy, Dylan, Sheila and their mother, Michelle, are busy looking over some papers that a courier had sent to them. It came from Maureen Whitehead, the sister of the late and hated Shelby Whitehead, Michelle's former sister in-law. MICHELLE: All this paper. DYLAN: I cannot believe Maureen kept all this. I know I can call her Aunt Maureen still, but since Shelby wasn't my real mother, why live a lie? MICHELLE: True, my darling, but for many years, the fiction was that she was. No harm in doing so, is there? DYLAN: You're right, Mom. And I know it's not Maureen's fault, Shelby was surely to blame. I just cannot believe that Uncle Michael would marry her. MICHELLE: Nobody can, darling. And clearly nobody liked her. If I had my way, Angela would have been your uncle's wife. SHEILA: Look at this, guys. (Michelle and Dylan look at the paper.) DYLAN: Oh, my heavens! This is a letter, from a Reggie Stapleton? SHEILA: Who was Reggie Stapleton? MICHELLE: A boy Mike and I knew from Harvard. Apparently, he was someone that was on Shelby's second string. DYLAN: Oh, dear God, you mean, Shelby was as bad as Jennifer Barrett is today? (The three of them laugh) MICHELLE (laughing): Apparently so. This was a love letter from Reggie that she got after she married your uncle Mike. DYLAN: All the while she was married to Uncle Mike, whom I called Dad for all those years, she was cheating on him! Oh, my goodness! MICHELLE: Think of it this way, my darling boy, Uncle Mike knew of her treachery, and so did the rest of the family. SHEILA: All those years, and she cheated on Uncle Mike, mercilessly. MICHELLE: And what else she was capable of doing! She.......! (Michelle is taken aback by a picture. A picture of Dylan, at age six. He was sporting a black eye!) SHEILA: Mom, what is it? DYLAN: Oh, no! Mom! I cannot believe it that she would keep that picture! MICHELLE: If she wasn't already dead, I would have KILLED her! SHEILA: Mom, what are you talking about? MICHELLE: When I was away for a symphony rehearsal, your uncle was watching Dylan. Angela was taking some papers to your grandfather, and she saw Shelby screaming at Dyl. Over a pillow he picked up that fell off her divan. She then took a swing at him and blackened his eye. DYLAN: I was so embarrassed. MICHELLE (taking her son into her arms): You have no reason to be ashamed of anything, my precious. Shelby had NO right to hit you. I asked Mike about it, and he told me what had happened. Shelby was angry about something she must have wanted hidden. She screamed that she owned that room, despite Mike telling her otherwise. She wanted to take revenge on Dylan for what happened, so she decided she was going to scream at him and blacken his eye. SHEILA: That filthy wicked bitch! You're right, Mom. I am glad she is dead! If she wasn't, I would kill her myself! MICHELLE: But she is dead. And that is all that matters. SHEILA: Who reported her then? Nobody in the house or on the staff said anything. MICHELLE: I know who did. Only one other person knew enough, and cared enough, to report that harridan for what she did. DYLAN: Who? (Enter Angela Mercier) ANGELA: I did. (The three are astonished) SHEILA: You? When? ANGELA: There is quite a story behind this. More than anyone knows. Dyl, honey, I know you did not like her. I knew you well enough to know that. Anytime that woman was near you when you were a baby, you cried; and when you cried, Sheila cried too. That is how close you two are. Michelle and I knew one another for many years. From our high school days at Boston Latin, through our years at Radcliffe. I will flat out say, she is my best friend, and she was the one who introduced me to Michael, in fact. I clearly did not trust Shelby, far from it. But I knew she was up to something! And that day she was beating on you and then took a swing at you, Dyl, was the last straw. I was over talking with Mrs. Ridgeway, and I was on my way downstairs when I saw what she did, I was really furious. I called DHS on her and she was questioned. Apparently, she lied her way out of it. However, I called her bluff! I talked with DHS, and she told me that Shelby was lying through her teeth. She never had any capacity for children; none whatever. So, when I heard that she hit you, I went to your grandparents, and I got sworn statements from Mrs. Ridgeway and Amelia. I knew she had done something, so I took care of business. MICHELLE: And I was glad she did. SHEILA: What are you doing here, Angela? What brings you from Paris? ANGELA: I moved here again. I am back for good. Karen is still my personal assistant. She is back too. DYLAN: Mom, what is going on here? MICHELLE: Angela and I rekindled our friendship, and it grew into something more. SHEILA: You mean......? ANGELA: Yep. Your mom and I are dating. SHEILA: What about Prudence? ANGELA: We broke up. It cooled to friendship, and it was understandable. Prudence gave us her approval. SHEILA: That is wonderful. DYLAN: I am so pleased, for both of you. ANGELA: Thank you. MICHELLE: Well, we have a couple of more hands to help us with this massive amount of paper. I think Maureen wanted to purge herself of the memory of her toxic sister. DYLAN: I think we all do. SHEILA: And we will. MICHELLE: Yes, we will. (The group get back to work looking over the paperwork. What they didn't want to keep, which wasn't a lot, they put in the paper shredder. The scene fades)Category:Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Dylan and Sheila